Bird Bath Fairy “Garden”

June 4, 2015

Last year I spotted a number of pins of bird baths being repurposed as fairy gardens and I thought they looked awesome. I happened to have a standard concrete bird bath that wasn’t doing anything to enhance the look of my lawn. I decided to create my own little fairy garden, minus the real plants and flowers. Plants and I have a complicated relationship. I love them, but I have never had success growing them. Still, I’m calling it a Fairy Garden.

I moved the bird bath from its previous location which had been in the middle of some shrubbery to a more visible spot closer to my doorsteps. When I say “I moved” I really mean my husband moved it. Those things are heavy!

I filled it with dirt and then layered some small river rocks on top. Choosing pieces for it was fun. I found several of them at JoAnns, a few at Michaels and few that I already had. After adding them all in, I thought it looked ok, but it wasn’t as fun as I wanted it to be. It didn’t have the pops of color that it needed. I kept thinking that I needed to change it to make it better, but that project got put on hold.

A couple of weeks ago, I was looking at the bird bath and thinking that it really needed to be washed and cleaned. That’s when I decided that it was time to give it a makeover.

I emptied it all out, hosed it off and decided to spray paint it black. It’s sitting close to the rails on my doorstep, which are black. The yawn light is black, the front door is black, so I thought I would paint it to match.

I used Rustoleum Universal primer and paint in one.

I added a layer of dirt, but this time I didn’t fill it fully. I think having too much dirt in it was one of the reasons the bird bath looked dirty. When it rained, the dirt would trickle down the sides and onto the base. I also cut out a circle of lawn mesh to help keep weeds from sprouting in the dirt. That happened with my first attempt.

To help contain the dirt, I used a thin pizza pan from the dollar store as a base for the items. I glued moss to the pan and gathered my decorative items. I reused some from my first attempt and bought some new more colorful ones. I glued these down as well. I used Loctite Stik ‘n Seal glue. It’s for outdoor use.

To make a pond, I spay painted an old CD light blue and glued clear vase fillers to it.

Instead of trying to use real plants, I decided to cut apart some fake stems and use the flowers and the greenery. I put some moss into the little clay pots and glued the flowers inside.

Once I had everything in place, I placed the pan into the bird bath and added river rocks all around it.

I was happy to find lots of these new decorative pieces at JoAnns for 60% off.

This love stepping stone is one of my favorite pieces.

I’m happy with how it turned out. I think giving it a new paint color and adding in much more colorful pieces really makes it stand out.

While it may not be a garden in the true sense of the word, it is a fun little decor item that gives me a smile every time I walk by it.

*Note: I’ve had some people ask about drainage from rain water. With the first one I made, without the pizza pan, the water was absorbed into the soil or spilled down the sides causing it to look pretty dirty. By using the pizza pan, some rain water will pool on top. The bowl is not attached to the base, so it’s easy to just tip it over a little and allow the rain water to spill out. Gluing the pieces in place keeps them secure when tipping it.

Comments

W.O.W.!! I love, love, love it! Just like your little rock says! The darker color really makes the stones and other items in the fairy garden really stand out. What a totally fun project this is!Laurie recently posted…Brag About It Link Party!!

Thank you, ladies! Sometimes the second version of a project turns out to be way better than the first! My “pond” was one of those things that came about because I couldn’t find one in the fairy garden items at any of the stores, so a little diy was called for!Beverly recently posted…Bird Bath Fairy “Garden”

I know I already commented, but I wanted to say Thank you for sharing with us at Brag About It! And to let you know that your Bird Bath Fairy Garden will be one of my features at next weeks party!!
Wishing I had an old bird bath . . . but I’m on the lookout for one that needs a makeover!
Hope you have a spectacular week!
~LaurieLaurie recently posted…Brag About It Link Party!!